Starring: Missy Keatin, Marcella Plunkett, Padraic Delaney.
In a remote town in Ireland, eleven-year-old Neve finds herself the sole survivor of a bloody massacre that killed her parents and younger brother. Suspecting a gang of homicidal vandals, the police ignore Neve’s explanation that the house is the culprit. To help ease her trauma, dutiful neighbors Nat and Lucas take her in with the supervision of a social worker. Neve has trouble finding peace with the wholesome and nurturing couple, and horrific danger continues to manifest. Haunted objects, an eerie score and a moody, oneiric look complement this intense and frightening peek into child abuse and the searing imagination of writer/director Marina de Van.
Received favourably at last year’s Film 4 Frightfest, Dark Touch benefits from a stellar performance from Missy Keating, here making her screen debut.Undermined somewhat by some out of place black humour, Dark Touch is nevertheless an intense viewing experience.It shares themes and codas from Anton Leader’s Children Of The Damned, Sean Macgregor and David Sheldon’s Devil Times Five and, most notably, Dario Argento’s Phenomena.
